Method for operating a motor vehicle and motor vehicle

Abstract

A method is disclosed for operating a motor vehicle having a computing device providing computing power, a communication device for communicating with a vehicle-external cloud provided with a server device, and a control device, wherein the control device performs an availability check indicating the existence of free computing power available from the motor vehicle for executing a computing task provided by a currently-reachable cloud as determined by the motor vehicle's communication device. From within a list of currently-reachable clouds, a target cloud to which the motor vehicle's computing power must be provided is selected either manually by user input or at least partially automatically based on availability parameters. Once a target cloud is selected, a communication link with the target cloud is established and the motor vehicle is logged into the target cloud as a provider of computing power. A motor vehicle for performing the method is also disclosed.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. A method for operating a motor vehicle comprising at least one computing device providing computing power, a communication device for communicating with at least one vehicle-external cloud each provided with at least one server device, and a control device, wherein the method comprises:
 performing, by the control device, an availability check to determine an availability of free computing power of the motor vehicle, wherein the motor vehicle is configured to provide:
 no computing power to the at least one vehicle-external cloud when an entirety of the free computing power is used for driving operations of the motor vehicle, 
 a maximum computing power to the at least one vehicle-external cloud when the motor vehicle is not operational, and 
 a partial computing power to the at least one vehicle-external cloud when at least a portion of the entirety of the free computing power is used for the driving operations of the motor vehicle; 
 
 indicating, by the control device, for the availability check returning a positive result, the availability of the free computing power for executing a computing task provided by the at least one vehicle-external cloud; 
 determining, by the control device, at least one vehicle-external cloud is reachable via the communication device; 
 selecting, by the control device, the at least one vehicle-external cloud reachable via the communication device, wherein the selected vehicle-external cloud is in need of the computing power; 
 establishing, by the control device, a communication link with the selected vehicle-external cloud via the communication device; and 
 logging, by the control device, the motor vehicle into the selected vehicle-external cloud as a provider of the computing power. 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the performing the availability check comprises:
 analyzing, by the control device, at least one availability parameter describing a quantity of free computing power, a predicted time period for the free computing power, or an amount of available energy for computing. 
 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 2 , further comprising:
 based on the analysis of the at least one availability parameter, selecting, by the control device, one of a plurality of operating modes of the motor vehicle, 
 wherein the plurality of operating modes comprise:
 an exclusion operating mode, without provision of the computing power to a cloud; 
 a cloud operating mode, with provision of a maximum computing power to the selected at least one vehicle-external cloud, when the motor vehicle is not operational; and 
 a hybrid operating mode, with provision of partial computing power to the selected at least one vehicle-external cloud, wherein at least a portion of the entirety of the free computing power is used for the driving operations of the motor vehicle. 
 
 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 3 , wherein selecting the hybrid operating mode comprises:
 determining, by the control device, speed of the motor vehicle falling below a threshold value to transfer the partial computing power to the selected at least one vehicle-external cloud; or 
 determining, by the control device, usage of an infotainment system of the motor vehicle to transfer the partial computing power to the selected at least one vehicle-external cloud; or 
 in response to coordinated automated driving of the motor vehicle, transferring, by the control device, computing processes to other motor vehicles to transfer the partial computing power to the selected at least one vehicle-external cloud. 
 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 2 , wherein the at least one availability parameter is a charging status of a battery of the motor vehicle or a presence of a power connection with a vehicle-external energy source for charging the battery. 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 2 , wherein determining the predicted time period comprises using, by the control device, a trained usage model of the motor vehicle; or applying, by the control device, known past usage data to a planned future use of the motor vehicle. 
     
     
       7. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the selecting of the at least one vehicle-external cloud is based on at least one user input, or at least partially automatically. 
     
     
       8. The method of  claim 7 , further comprising:
 displaying, by the control device, to the driver the at least one vehicle-external cloud reachable via the communication device. 
 
     
     
       9. The method of  claim 7 , wherein the selecting of the at least one vehicle-external cloud at least partially automatically comprises evaluating, by the control device, at least one availability parameter. 
     
     
       10. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the selecting of the at least one vehicle-external cloud is based on at least one user input that describes at least one vehicle-external cloud preferred by the user, or at least one selection criterion. 
     
     
       11. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 requesting, by the control device, at least one computing task to be taken over by the motor vehicle from the selected vehicle-external cloud, wherein the selected vehicle-external cloud comprises other traffic participants. 
 
     
     
       12. The method of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 receiving, by the control device, at least one computing task from a vehicle-external control device of the selected vehicle-external cloud, wherein the selected vehicle-external cloud is a fog, and wherein the at least one computing task originates from a requesting device positioned at a distance from the motor vehicle; and 
 establishing, by the control device, a direct communication connection between the motor vehicle and the requesting device through the fog. 
 
     
     
       13. The method of  claim 12 , wherein the direct communication connection is a wireless connection over which the at least one computing task or task data required for executing the at least one computing task is directly transmitted from the requesting device to the motor vehicle. 
     
     
       14. A motor vehicle having at least one computing device providing computing power, a communication device for communicating with at least one vehicle-external cloud each provided with at least one server device, and a control device configured to:
 perform an availability check to determine an availability of free computing power of the motor vehicle, wherein the motor vehicle is configured to provide:
 no computing power to the at least one vehicle-external cloud when an entirety of the free computing power is used for driving operations of the motor vehicle, 
 a maximum computing power to the at least one vehicle-external cloud when the motor vehicle is not operational, and 
 a partial computing power to the at least one vehicle-external cloud when at least a portion of the entirety of the free computing power is used for the driving operations of the motor vehicle; 
 
 indicate, for the availability check returning a positive result, the availability of the free computing power for executing a computing task provided by the at least one vehicle-external cloud; 
 determine at least one vehicle-external cloud reachable via the communication device; 
 select the at least one vehicle-external cloud reachable via the communication device, wherein the selected vehicle-external cloud is in need of the computing power; 
 establish a communication link with the selected vehicle-external cloud via the communication device; and 
 log the motor vehicle into the selected vehicle-external cloud as a provider of the computing power. 
 
     
     
       15. The motor vehicle of  claim 14 , wherein to perform the availability check, the control device is further configured to:
 analyze at least one availability parameter describing a quantity of the free computing power, a predicted time period for the free computing power, or an amount of available energy for computing. 
 
     
     
       16. The motor vehicle of  claim 15 , wherein the control device is further configured to:
 select one of a plurality of operating modes of the motor vehicle based on the analysis of the at least one availability parameter, 
 wherein the plurality of operating modes comprises:
 an exclusion operating mode, without provision of the computing power to a cloud; 
 a cloud operating mode, with provision of a maximum computing power to the selected at least one vehicle-external cloud, when the motor vehicle is not operational; and 
 a hybrid operating mode, with provision of partial computing power to the selected at least one vehicle-external cloud, wherein at least a portion of the entirety of the free computing power is used for the driving operations of the motor vehicle. 
 
 
     
     
       17. The motor vehicle of  claim 15 , wherein the at least one availability parameter is a charging status of a battery of the motor vehicle or a presence of a power connection with a vehicle-external energy source for charging the battery. 
     
     
       18. The motor vehicle of  claim 15 , wherein to determine the predicted time period, the control device is further configured to:
 use a trained usage model of the motor vehicle; or apply known past usage data to a planned future use of the motor vehicle. 
 
     
     
       19. The motor vehicle of  claim 14 , wherein the control device is further configured such that selecting a target cloud from among the at least one selected vehicle-external cloud is performed manually, depending on at least one user input, or is performed at least partially automatically. 
     
     
       20. The motor vehicle of  claim 19 , wherein the control device is further configured to display, to the driver, the selected vehicle-external cloud via the communication device.